BERLIN (Reuters) - Many German businesses are beginning to shift investments away from Britain in anticipation of increased trade barriers after Brexit, the chief of the DIHK Chambers of Industry and Commerce said on Monday.
In a joint statement, the DIHK and the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) called for British and European Union negotiators to deliver clarity and certainty for trading businesses across Europe in their negotiations on Britain's exit from the bloc.
"Businesses are very concerned that Brexit will have a major negative impact," Martin Wansleben, chief executive of the DIHK said in the statement, adding that Brexit could lead to additional bureaucracy, increased waiting times and stricter border controls resulting in higher costs.
"The terms of exit are still completely unclear. Many of our members are reporting that they are already shifting investments away from the UK in anticipation of these barriers," he added.
British officials arrive in Brussels on Monday to push the EU towards talks about their post-Brexit ties, which the bloc refuses to do without an agreement first on London's exit bill and other divorce issues.
Prime Minister Theresa May has been under pressure to back away from her stance that "no (Brexit) deal is better than a bad deal" since losing her governing Conservative Party's parliamentary majority in an election in June.
(Writing by Paul Carrel)
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